The invention disclosed herein relates generally to reopenable access port sealing arrangements, and more particularly to housings for adjustable electronic components, the housings requiring reopenable adjustment access port seals.
It is frequently necessary to house electronic components and circuits in housings which provide protection form adverse environmental conditions. In many cases the electronic circuits and components may be capable of adjustment and adjustments may be required for set up and/or calibration purposes. In such situations, the housings must be provided with suitable adjustment, access ports to allow insertion of a screw driver or other appropriate tool. The sealing requirements for such housings are set by various standards, such as, for example, NEMA 4 which requires that no water be found within a housing after subjecting it to a prescribed water test routine. One solution for providing access ports with the sealed covers is to use a cover in the form of a screw having an 0-ring seat thereon which is inserted into a threaded access port. Such an arrangement satisfactorily meets many sealing requirements. However, it has the disadvantage that when the cover is removed it is loose and easily lost. This may result in access ports being left open, thus permitting the entry of water and other contaminants which can damage components within the housing.
The applicant has overcome this problem by providing a hinged access door of unique design which meets many access port sealing requirements. The access door is held captive to the remainder of the housing, thus preventing loss of the door, and minimizing the probability that the access port will be left open after set-up adjustment or calibration.